Consider your ways!
Now therefore, thus says the LORD of hosts, “Consider your ways! You have sown much, but harvest little; you eat, but there is not enough to be satisfied; you drink, but there is not enough to become drunk; you put on clothing, but no one is warm enough; and he who earns, earns wages to put into a purse with holes.” Thus says the LORD of hosts, “Consider your ways! Go up to the mountains, bring wood and rebuild the temple, that I may be pleased with it and be glorified,” says the LORD. (Haggai 1:5-8)
The returned exiles were more concerned about building their own homes. The land was desolate and everyone was concerned about their own welfare. And not only was the land desolate - the house of the Lord was not being built. In the context of Haggai the house was a physical building that was not being built. In our context, the Lord is seeking the establishment of His kingdom and the manifestation of His reign in and through Texas.
Consider your ways! Haggai continues...
“You look for much, but behold, it comes to little; when you bring it home, I blow it away. Why?” declares the LORD of hosts, “Because of My house which lies desolate, while each of you runs to his own house. Therefore, because of you the sky has withheld its dew and the earth has withheld its produce. I called for a drought on the land, on the mountains, on the grain, on the new wine, on the oil, on what the ground produces, on men, on cattle, and on all the labor of your hands.” Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the LORD their God and the words of Haggai the prophet, as the LORD their God had sent him. And the people showed reverence for the LORD. (Haggai 1:9-12, emphasis mine)
Our response? Yes, let's pray for rain, but more importantly let's bow our knee before the Lord and declare, "Lord, forgive us of our sins and use us to bring forth Your kingdom." Let the temple of the Lord's presence be established in Texas and the Nation as we (living stones) are built upon the foundation of Jesus Christ.
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